Publication:

Recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax in pregnancy-a case report

Spontaneous pneumothorax during pregnancy is a rare but a serious condition. The typical symptoms of spontaneous pneumothorax include pleuritic chest pain and shortness of breath. Diagnosis is usually made on chest X-ray with abdominal shielding. Management differs according to severity and no specific guidelines are described for management of spontaneous pneumothorax in pregnancy. We report a case of a 27-year-old multigravida, with insignificant past medical history for any respiratory illness, presenting with recurrent, left sided spontaneous pneumothorax during a single pregnancy. It was managed by chest tube thoracostomy each time and patient was discharged with tube till the delivery of the fetus.